Cheap speaker discovery

[chabby]

Hey guys just as an FYI I first discovered this when I was repairing a friends GDS 18 watt head and all I had on site was an epi Jr cab with the Emninence Lady luck speaker in it. Well when he came to pick up the head he tested it out first in that cab and was blown away and immediately went out and bought one. It's all I've been using too with my 18 watt Lite IIB. It's very chaep ready made solution and shouldnt sound as good as it does. But since the discovery we have tried it against many speaker combos and it's number one with us still...over every Celestion we've tried and others...even the very spendy Blue's.

Don't know why......it just works. for under hundred bucks you get a fairly well made good looking single 12" cab to beat around - I love it.

[stevesuk]

Brilliant,
They are about £100 in the UK ($160 ?).
But, a 12" Celestion speaker alone is getting close to that at retail prices in the UK.
Is there enough room to build an amp inside it ?
Probably, hanging vertical from the back ?

Steve UK
www.valvepower.co.uk

[Gary]

due to space constraints enforced by my good lady wife, I recently rationalised the number of cabinets lying around by transplanting two Harley Benton VJR clone chassis(es ?) into two vjr extension cabs. Even with hammond dse transformers, they hang comfortably from the top - if you move the mains and speaker connections from around from the back. I fit some feet on the opposite end of the cab so I could run the 'amp' upside down to keep the heat to a minimum. My cabs have Chinese greenbacks.

edit: Still haven't got round to modifying the back panel yet to accomodate the knobs and switches- it does sound better with the panel on.

[stevesuk]

I just googled the Epi Valve Senior 18 watt amp and it is very close in dimensions to the extension cab. Good chance they are one and the same shell.
If they can fit an amp in it, we can

At first glance it looks like the front top panel may be the only thing that needs cutting and perhaps turning the back panel upside down ?
Good opportunity to get rid of the red tolex at the same time.

A lot cheaper and easier than making a cab and buying a speaker.
I will head out and buy one this afternoon and hope the upside down chassis's I already stock fit.

Steve UK
www.valvepower.co.uk

[John_A]

I will head out and buy one this afternoon and hope the upside down chassis's I already stock fit.

Steve UK
www.valvepower.co.uk

Man on a mission!! Be sure to post some pics if it all works out!

[Andyroid]

You think Epi's are cheap? They also sell the same amps/cabs made in the same factory but under different names for HALF the price. Grainger and Legacy amps are Epiphone, at half the price. NOW THAT'S CHEAP!

BTW, I also have a couple of Lady Lucks, lovely speakers.

[zaphod_phil]

They also sell the same amps/cabs made in the same factory but under different names for HALF the price. Grainger and Legacy amps are Epiphone, at half the price.

... I recently rationalised the number of cabinets lying around by transplanting two Harley Benton VJR clone chassis(es ?) into two vjr extension cabs.

And so are Harley Benton amps, sold in Europe. They're basically the same amps built in the same factory, and not clones. All make fine donors for 18W projects. However, I suspect the Lady Luck speaker is on the low side for efficiency, so it won't be as loud as some of the other popular options.

[stevesuk]

Zp,
99dB not too shabby.
I went out and bought an epi Extension cab today and have started to dismantle it, very well made of ply, sounds pretty good.
I will swop the speaker out with a G12H and a G12M to compare if time permits, but plenty of room to hang an 18W head inside from the top. Roughly 16 1/2" width with 8" depth, conveniently not even bracing on the inside top to hack away.
It may be an idea to not even chop the front top panel, just drill holes for very long control spindles and mount the faceplate straight on the existing fascia.
How's that for an idea ? or have I seen it somewhere in the past ? Probably on old wooden valve radios ?
The fancy silk screened backplate will just reverse for the speaker out jacks or selector and single jack, with a matt black plain finish and the mains lead can go straight in through a hole. The back panel can just go in upside down for ventilation.

OK, here's the specs on the Lady Lucks right from Eminence:

Thank you for your inquiry. Eminence and Epiphone engineers collaborated to
develop the Lady Luck speaker specifically for the new line of Epiphone
Amplifiers. The development and testing of this speaker has been in process for
about two years. The speaker is a 16 ohm model and is rated for 70 watts RMS.
Each speaker sports a custom Epiphone/Eminence finish in Mustard Yellow along
with the Lady Luck label on the back. The speaker has a stamped steel frame, a
front rear sealing gasket, a 34 oz magnet, 1.75" voice coil, a full paper cone
with paper edge, and a cloth dust cap. This speaker has a sensitivity of 99dB
and a useable frequency range from 80Hz-5kHz. It has a very smooth response
from the low-end through the mid range. It also has a very nice top end sparkle.
The speaker was engineered to exhibit very warm, and smooth break-up modes. The
tonality of the amp is such that very little tonal coloration from the speaker
was desired. Consequently, the speaker was engineered to provide a subtle, yet
effective compliment to the amplifier.

Steve UK
www.valvepower.co.uk

[zaphod_phil]

99dB not too shabby.

Hmmm, you're right. That's not bad at all.

It may be an idea to not even chop the front top panel, just drill holes for very long control spindles and mount the faceplate straight on the existing fascia. How's that for an idea ? or have I seen it somewhere in the past ? Probably on old wooden valve radios ?

Yes, old valve radios and audio amplifiers. Anything that avoids having to chop into a tolexed cab is a great idea. It's very messy work having to re-tolex the chopped panel.

The speaker is a 16 ohm model and is rated for 70 watts RMS.

That's a pretty big power rating!

It has a very smooth response from the low-end through the mid range. It also has a very nice top end sparkle. The speaker was engineered to exhibit very warm, and smooth break-up modes...

.... with hints of oak and a lingering aftertaste of larks vomit...

[cGil]

Don't forget to wear a mask over your nose when cutting into that Epi cab. It's made in China, you know. Rumor has it that it just smells kinda wrong when cut or drilled; so there's no telling what sort of obnoxious stuff they might have used to treat that wood and make the glue used for that plywood. Even the tolex glue is suspect.

Gil...

[katopan]

You think Epi's are cheap? They also sell the same amps/cabs made in the same factory but under different names for HALF the price. Grainger and Legacy amps are Epiphone, at half the price. NOW THAT'S CHEAP!

It sparked my interest a while ago when I read about the Lady Luck and then put it together with the prices of the Legacy amps here. Of course when I next found myself in the relevant music store a quick look confirmed that the Legacy speaker was a not so good replacement even through the amp was the same.

[chabby]

Mines already chopped up because I hung a 25 watt 5E3 in it within the first 2 weeks of owning it. I never warmed to the Epi head and sold it immediately. But the cab has been extremely utilitarian and an excellent deal for me. My 18 watt lite IIB chassis just sits all exposed on the top of it for tweaking. But now that i'm finally done tweaking I guess I'll finally go ahead and hang it in there this weekend.

I can't believe how well made and sturdy the little Epi cabs are. It proved a tough adversary trying to tear it apart-lol!. Its funny....at first I just tore it apart to get the speaker out and thrashed it with a claw hammer. Then later on I went out to the garage and salvaged it due to hard financial times and just nailed it back togther...lol! Its got no front grill over the speaker anymor as I ripped that off to put over a mahogany cab I built for the 5E3 which turned out like a fine piece of furniture. Here's apicture of it:
<a href="http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y183/j ... y-7001.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y183/j ... y-7001.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

[stevesuk]

I splashed out and bought one for £109 and collected it from a warehouse.


Very clean, ideal for a fingerpicker.
it underlines how much the celestions colour the sound.
Mind you the Eminence is 70W and 99dB.

The cab is built like a tank, there is a double front baffle, the first baffle is rebated with a tongue joint all the way round and then pinned and glued. The front panel is then screwed through the back panel into the first panel, fortunately not glued on. It is all 20mm (3/4") 11 layer birch ply void free, even the back panel.
I would be pleased to have made such a thing. It would have cost more than £109 in time let alone the materials AND a free speaker !!
I pay 50% more for finished 1 X 12" cabs without speakers, so at £109 for a 1 X 12" with a speaker it is unbelievable.
Looking at various websites it seems it may be coming to an end, because they say, no stock expected ?

I would thoroughly recommend it even if you end up replacing the speaker.
I have hacked mine to fit a 'hanging head' and there is loads of room.
The backplate can be flipped back to front to hide the epiphone details and the jack sockets are good quality as well.
The back panel can simply be inverted because it has a nice mesh grill that will serve as a vent.
The Epiphone badge on the front, levers carefully out and the top tolexed panel seperates from the bottom. I will cover that in black vinyl when I have trimmed it as a fascia cover for the amp.
It is 18" square and 10 3/4" deep. A good handle and feet, corner protectors and just a really well made cabinet of excellent material.




Steve UK
www.valvepower.co.uk

[Kitarist]

Yea it looks like a really good build

[Eric]

Is that foam on the inside back?

[nyazzip]

i don't really understand, in that bottom pic, what are those 4 "tab" things doing?

[stevesuk]

i don't really understand, in that bottom pic, what are those 4 "tab" things doing?

The top panel and the bottom panel are seperate. It is the conventional way to do a front panel. It is always awkward to fix the two panels together, most people put a batten across the back. This only works when the front panel is single thickness.
I suppose because the Epiphone has a'double' front panel and the 'decorative panel sits flush against the actual baffle, they decided to recess the joining pieces. The joining pieces are thick cardboard stapled. The panel is also screwed from the back top and bottom. The fact that the front comes off and leaves a really solidly fixed and glued baffle in place is excellent work. Average Joe would just have the single front panel/s screwed and glued to battens round the edge.

I have nearly finished the combo in between customer builds, just deciding G12M or G12H 70th Anniversary ?
If it sounds as good as it looks, I will buy some more before they discontinue them, they must be losing money on them ?
Steve UK
www.valvepower.co.uk

[JdJ]

I picked up a used one in great shape for $99 from a music chain store in my area. Is the LL speaker voiced a bit dark or is my cab so unused that speaker needs breaking in!?! I figure even if I have to grab a new speaker it's still a deal!

[stevesuk]

I picked up a used one in great shape for $99 from a music chain store in my area. Is the LL speaker voiced a bit dark or is my cab so unused that speaker needs breaking in!?! I figure even if I have to grab a new speaker it's still a deal!

I only tried the speaker briefly before I set about attacking the cab, but it seemed very clean on a 'Vintage (the make) Lemon Drop LP' which is another bargain that begs to be bought and set up nicely. This one was set up on the computerised 'Plek' system and plays like a dream. Good pups and machine heads.
I bought the cab with a session player friend and tried it at his house with one of my 18W heads, his Vintage LP Lemon Drop and he likes 'clean fingerpicking'. We didn't turn it up loud, but it seemed to be like Epiphone say, 'doesn't colour the sound'. What you get out is what you put in.
Steve
www.valvepower.co.uk

[chabby]

Still amazes me how they buils something like this for the money. I mean I was shocked when I tore it apart...it was really tough! And I wasn't being gentle either. The plywood was strong and the baffle felt like birch.
Funny, mine was in pieces reconciled for the dump when hard times hit.
I went out and as hard as it was to tear apart, went back together easily. Mainly because it was so resistant to the beating I gave it that even the fasteners were still there and ready to be hit will a rubber mallet to re-fasten.. Now it's kind of my utilitarian speakers for almost everything for testing repairs and stuff. At 16 ohms it works pretty well for that. My particular Output tranny really sounded good at 16ohms even though I pulled it from an amp running an 8ohm OT. As is often the case, a mismatch can work out good. Still, am surprised at how good it sounds with an 18 watt. The first one I tried it with was the GDS set which was was a head I converted to combo-style TMB. Next, I tried it with my Hammond AO43 conversion that was hard wired for 8 ohms and it sounded great. Currently I ripped the original 8ohm speakers out of the organ it came from and put them in 2x12 cab I just built. I thought the organ speakers would suck and be weak, but I was wrong and they are excellent, though not as loud as the Lady Luck.